Automatic vending-machine.



B. M. DAVIS.

AUTOMATIC VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.7,1905.

977,437. Patented Dec. 6, 1910.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

B. M. DAVIS. AUTOMATIG VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 7,1905.

Patented Dec. 6, 1910.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

B. M. DAVIS.

AUTOMATIC VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.7,1905.

977,437. Patented Dec. 6, 1910;

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 gay, 6,

Wi fi r 65 17w 1 IBE'IHUEL in. DAVIS, or CHICAGO, rumors.

AUTOMATIC VENDING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 6, 1910.

Application filed April 7, 1905. Serial no. 254,273.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BETI-IUEL M. DAVIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Vending-Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

My invention relates to automatic vending machines adapted to be set in operation by the presence of a coin deposited therein, and it has for one of its iu'lportant. objects to provide an, improved and attractive form of machine of this character which will automatically sound a whistle in imitation of a bird simultaneously with the delivery of the merchandise sold for the coin deposited.

Another object of the invention is to pro-,. vide an improved and simple form of compact, automatic vending machinery adapted to alternately deliver from a plurality of merchandise holders; and a still further object is to provide an improved, simple and efficient means for releasing the motor mechanism when a coin is deposited, and improved and simple means for returning the coin. to the depositor when the supply of merchandise is exhausted.

With a view to the attainment of these ends and the accomplishment of certain other objects, which will hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the features of novelty that will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the said drawingsFigure 1 is a front View of my improved machine with the easing in vertical section. Fig; 2 is a side view partly broken away with the casing 1n vertical section on the irregular line 2, 2 Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged front elevation of the lower part of the mechanism. Fig. 4 is a side elevation thereof looking from the left in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a vertical section thereof on the line 5, 5 Figs. 3 and 6. Fig. 6 is a vertical section on the line 6, 6 Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is a plan section on the line 7, 7 Fig. (5, and Fig. 8 is a detail section on the line 8, 8 Fig. 4. j

The merchandise herein shown in the form of blocks 1,- which may represent packages of gum, confection or other materlal to be vended, is placed in two vertical merchandise holders in the form of open sided chutes 2, 3 arranged side-by side with their front or open sides present to the customer so that the merchandise therein will at all times be displayed through .a glass 4 arranged in the front of the casing 5, thus enabling the proprietor to tell when the merchandise is exhausted. The holders 2, 3 are replenished from the top, the front ortion 6 of the easing being removable amfsecured in place by any suitable lock 7 whereby access may be had to the merchandise holders.

Extending across the lower ends of the merchandise holders or chutes 2, 3 from side to side of the machine are two flanges 8', 9 upon'which the stacks of merchandise 1 rest and arranged in a plane slightly above the upper surfaces of these flanges is a laterally reciprocating ejector 10, which is mounted upon a cross head 11 having pins or studs 12 formed on or secured to downwardly projecting arms or plates 13, one at each side or end of the cross head 11, which are arranged between the front and back plates 14, 15 of the mechanism frame and which plates are provided respectively with horizontal slots 16, 17 in which the studs 12 slide. The plunger ,10 being shorter than the distance between the extreme outer sides of the chutes 2, 3 it will be seen that when it is at the limit of its stroke in one direction it will be entirely under one of the stacks of merchandise and will be opposite the edge of the bottom block 1 in the other stack and consequentlywhen it returns toward the latter it will push it out into a delivery chute 18 having a guide lip 19 projecting into the casing, one of these delivery chutes and guide lips being arranged at each side of the machine so that the ejector 10 will alternately deliver on opposite sides of the machine first from one stack of merchandise and then from the other.

To the cross head 11 is secured a downwardly extending yoke 20 which has two perpendicular arms 21, 22 arranged in the plane of revolution of a lug or pin 23 projecting from theside of a gear wheel 24, thus constituting a crank and these two arms 21, 22 are so arranged with relation to g each other and to the crank pin or lug 23 that as the wheel 24 rotates the pin 23 will engage first the outer face or right hand face of the arm 21 and thereby push the cross head and ejector to the opposite end of their stroke when the pin 23 will pass upwardly away from the vertical face of the arm 21 and rotate within the yoke 20 until it engages the inner face of arm 22 whereby the cross head and ejector will be returned to the extremity of their stroke in the opposite direction as shown in Fig. 6 and there allowed to remain until the mechanism is again actuated for causingthe pin 23 to engage arm 21. There is considerable distance between arms 21, 22 and the mechanism is so timed and arranged that when the pin 23 stops it will be contiguous to that one of the arms 21, 22 from which it has just moved out of contact and consequently the motor mechanism will be given an opportunity to accumulate power or momentum before it has any material work to do. This crank wheel 24 is one member of a train of gears which derive motion from a clock spring arbor 25 upon which is wound spring 26 and is mounted a gear 27 engaging pin ion 28 on the shaft 29 of gear wheel 24. Gear wheel 24 engages a pinion 30 on a shaft 31 which is provided outside of the back plate 15 with a double crank constituted by two disks 32, 33 and two pins 34, 35, the disk 32 being secured to shaft 31 and the disk 33 being secured to disk 32 by pin 34. The pin 34 is connected by a rod or wire 36 to a bellows 37 and the pin by rod 38 to a bellows 39 so that as the shaft 31 rotates the bellows 37, 39 will be alternately operated. The connection between the rods 36, 38 and their respective bellows is made in a suitable way as by eyes 40 on the top sections of the bellows, and lugs 41 secured firmly to the rods 36, 38 respectively, the rods passing loosely through the eyes 40, so that as the rods rise they will lift the top sections of the bellows, and as they descend the top sections will be allowed to descend also and thereby expel the air alternately into two whistles 42, 43 connected with the bellows 37, 39 respectively, and havin their whistle apertures 44 arranged opposite openings 45 in the sides of the casing, these, if desired, being protected by shields 46. Located within the casing above the bellows 37, 39 is the image of a cuckoo or other bird or pleasing object 47, which is pivotally mounted upon a rocker shaft 48 in the side walls 49 of a recess located behind a grated opening 50 in the front of the casing through which the bird is visible. Secured to the bird is an arm 51 which projects downwardly into contact with one of the bellows so that as that bellows is actuated the bird will be rocked on its pivot.

The shaft 31 is also provided with a gear wheel which meshes with a pinion 53 on a shaft 54. The inner end of this shaft is shown as supported on bracket 55 secured to the inner face of plate 14 and the outer end of the shaft is supported in a horizontal arm 56 projecting from the side of a bracket 57 secured to the outer face of plate 14. Upon the outer extremity of the shaft 54 is arranged a box cam 58 having the form of ca1 n groove better shown in Fig. 8, comprislng concentric portions 59, one on each side and notches or non-emicentric portions 60, 61 arranged dian'ietrically opposite each other. In this cam groove engages the end of a ing 62 which is secured to a lever 63 pivoted at 64 to the arm 56 and provided at one end with weight 65 and at the other end with a coin supporting lug or pin 66 arranged under one side of an internal coin chute 67 secured to the front of the bracket 57, see Figs. 2, 3, 5 and 8, so that when the coin, shown at 68 in dotted lines in Fig. 8, is deposited it will rest upon the coin supporting pin or lug 66 which will hold the coin supported while the weight of the latter overcomes the weight 65 and depresses the lever 63, thereby moving a stop finger 69 out of engagement. with fan or governor 70 connected in any suitable way with the clock mechanism and causing the partsgbefore described to be operated while the coin falls into coin receptacle 71. At the time a coin is deposited and the mechanism is at rest, the stud or pin 62 occupies a position within the concentric part 59 of the cam groove, but the groove is considerably wider than the end of the stud so as to allow the finger 69 to move out of contact with the fan 70 but at the same time not allow the lever 63 to descend far enough to release the coin from the support 66 until one of the notches 60, 61 in the cam groove reaches the stud 62. Consequently the motor mechanism will be given an opportunity to operate a sufficient length of time for sounding the whistle and delivering the merchandise. As soon as the notch or 61 reaches stud 62 the weight of the coin depresses lever 63 still farther and the coin drops, whereupon the weight instantly moves the stud 62 upwardly against the inner wall of the cam groove and returns sto finger 69 and coin support 66 to their positions shown in Fig. 8. The fan or governor is mounted upon a. shaft 71 and is driven from the shaft 54 by any suitable train of gears 72, 73, 74, 75, see Fig. 7.

The coin is deposited through any suitable chute 76 in the front 6 and falls directly into the internal coin chute 67, but should both of the merchandise holders or chutes 2, 3 be empty at that time, the coin will be returned to the depositor through a coin return chute 77. In order to accomplish this I arrange over the coin chute 67 a valve 78 which is pivoted at 79 to the top of bracket 57 and is provided with a slot 80 located normally in register with the coin chute 67 and where it is held by gravity, but should the merchandise chutes be empty, the valve 78 will be thrown outwardly over the coin chute 67 so as to prevent the coin from passing into it but the coin will slide through the slot 80 on to an incline 81 or other suitable cross section as better shown in Fig. so as of and with respect to the cam by the check.

to receive and guide the coin into either of the chutes 67 or 77 according to its position and it isprovided with an arm 82 projecting upwardly within the range of movement of a lug or finger 83 formed on a weight 84 situated in one of the chutes 2, 3 on top of the blocks of merchandise 1, so that when the last block is removed from that merchandise holder the finger 83 will depress arm 82 and throw valve 78 over the coin chute 67, the

merchandise chute in which the weight 84 is situated bein always provided with one package more t an the other one.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:'

1. In an automatic vendin machine the combination of a merchan ise holder, a weight adapted to be supported by the merchandise therein, a coin actuated mechanism comprising a coin chute, a coin return chute, a ivoted valve guarding said coin chute and a apted when in one osition to deflect the coin into said return 0 ute, and a finger on said valve arranged to be engaged by said 'weight.

2. In an automatic vending machine, the combination of a motor mechanism, a delivery slide operatively connected therewith, a

cam connected to the motor mechanism, a pivoted lever, a connection between the lever and the cam whereby the cam will actuate the lever to release the check after the motor has started, said connection permitting an initial movement of the lever ln-dependently engaging the lever,'and a motor stop connected to the lever and adapted to be shifted by the said initial movement of the lever to release the motor.

3. In an automatic vending machine, the combination of a motor mechanism, a delivery slide operatively connected therewith, a cam connected to the motor mechanism, a pivoted lever, a connection between the lever and the cam whereby the cam will actuate the lever to release the check after the motor has started, said connection ermitting an initial movement of the lever lndependently of and with respect to the cam by the check engaging the lever, said cam also serving to limit the initial movement of the lever, and a motor stop connected to the lever and adapted to be shifted by the said initial movement of the lever to release the motor.

4. In an automatic vending machine, the combination of a motor mechanism, a delivery slide operatively connected therewith, a cam connected to the motor mechanism, a. pivoted lever, there being a projection on the lever adapted to be enga ed by the cam for positively operating the ever to release a check after the motor is started, said lever being adapted to be initially moved by av check to cause the projection to move into engagement with another portion of the cam to arrest the initial movement of the lever, and amotor stop connected to the lever and movable thereby when the lever is initially moved to release the motor, said cam being.

provided with an ofiset portion ada ted to receive the said projection to permit t e cam to act positively upon the pro ecti n.

- BETHUEL M. DAVIS. Witnesses:

FRANCIS A. HoPKINs, A. M. UHER. 

